Arrangement for operating the clutch in the power train of a motor vehicle
AssigneeLuK Lamellen und Kupplungsbau Beteiligungs KG
InventorsFred Roar Hemmingsen, Karl Frode Ring, Ole Jonny Waerp, Torgeir Sundet, Morten Berger Gunnerud
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The power train of a motor vehicle employs an electronic control unit which selects the extent of engagement of the friction clutch between the engine and the transmission by way of an electronic or fluid-operated actuator. The throttle valve for the engine is adjustable by the control unit and/or by the accelerator pedal to ensure predictable starting of the motor vehicle from standstill on a road surface having a pronounced slope and/or when the motor vehicle carries a heavy load.
Claims21
A power train for use in motor vehicles, comprising:
- a variable-speed prime mover arranged to furnish a plurality of torques including a maximum torque and having an output element arranged to rotate at a plurality of speeds;
- means for varying the speed of said prime mover, including an energy supplying device adjustable between a plurality of positions including a threshold position;
- a transmission selectively shiftable into a neutral gear and a plurality of additional gears;
- means for shifting said transmission into different gears;
- a torque transmitting friction clutch engageable and disengageable to respectively transmit and interrupt the transmission of torque between said output element and a rotary input element of said transmission;
- and
- control means for said clutch, including means for disengaging the clutch prior to shifting of said transmission from said neutral gear into one of said additional gears preparatory to setting of the vehicle in motion in response to shifting of the transmission into said one additional gear, to subsequent adjustment of said device beyond said threshold position and subsequent to partial engagement of said clutch to a condition in which the clutch transmits torque without play in the power train, said control means being arranged to effect a greater engagement of the clutch beyond said partial engagement in response to the establishment of a predetermined difference between an actual speed of said output element and a reference speed, said greater engagement of the clutch resulting in the transmission of a torque corresponding to that when the speed of said prime mover at least approximates said reference speed regardless of the adjustment of said energy supplying device at the time of setting the vehicle in motion.
A clutch control system for the automatic control of an engageable and disengageable clutch in a motor vehicle, said clutch connecting an engine with a gearbox and said gearbox having a plurality of fixed ratios and a neutral ratio as well as selector means by which said neutral and any one of said fixed ratios may be selected, the motor vehicle being provided with a throttle and a throttle control for controlling the speed of the engine, the clutch control system automatically controlling the engagement and disengagement of the clutch to permit changing of the gear ratio, the clutch control system being arranged to permit take-up from disengagement of the clutch to be initiated upon selection of the take-up gear, subsequent opening of the throttle control beyond a threshold value causing the clutch to be engaged to a point at which any lost motion in a power train between the engine and the gearbox is subsequently taken up, further engagement of the clutch depending upon the difference between the actual speed and a reference speed of the engine and the reference speed being derived in such a way that the difference between the actual speed and the reference speed establishes an extent of clutch engagement which transmits torque substantially equal to torque being furnished by the engine at the actual engine speed over the full range of throttle openings encountered during takeup from rest operation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.